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Who is David Weigel? WaPo journalist suspended without pay for retweeting SEXIST joke

Sharing a screenshot of Weigel's retweet, his colleague slammed him and wrote, 'Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!'

Washington Post politics reporter David Weigel (also known as Dave Weigel) has been suspended following outrage over a sexist post that he retweeted. Weigel retweeted Youtuber Cam Harless' post, which said, "Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.” 

Weigel later deleted the post and tweeted, "I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm." However, the newspaper reportedly suspended him on Monday, June 6, without pay. 

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Who is David Weigel?

Weigel began his professional career as an editorial assistant and researcher for the USA Today editorial page. He was also a reporter for Campaigns & Elections. He has contributed articles to Slate, The Daily Beast, Time, The Guardian, The American Prospect, The American Spectator, The Washington Monthly, The American Conservative, Politico, and The Nation. He was seen on NPR's 'Fresh Air' and MSNBC's 'The Rachel Maddow Show'.

Weigel is known for having written for The Economist's 'Democracy in America' blog. He also guest-blogged for Andrew Sullivan's 'Daily Dish' blog at The Atlantic. A book he wrote, titled 'The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock', was published in June 2017.

Weigel was slammed by his colleague Felicia Sonmez, who also covers national politics. “Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!” she wrote, sharing a screenshot of the Weigel's retweet. 

After Sonmez criticized Weigel, she was called out by Washington Post reporter Jose Del Real for exposing Weigel publicly. "Felicia, we all mess up from time to time. Engaging in repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague is neither a good look nor is it particularly effective. It turns the language of inclusivity into clout chasing and bullying. I don’t think this is appropriate,” Del Real further said to Sonmez in a now-deleted tweet: “I hope you reconsider the cruelty you regularly unleash against colleagues.”

Sonmez then responded in a tweet, saying, "When women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol. Last night, a Post colleague publicly attacked me for calling out another colleague’s sexist tweet." She added, "Objecting to sexism is not “clout chasing.” It’s not “harassment.” And it’s certainly not “cruelty.” 

It is unclear how long Weigel will remain suspended. However, New York Post reported that when it emailed him for a comment, an automatic reply said he was out of the office and returning July 5.

On Twitter, Cam Harless addressed Weigel's suspension for retweeting his post. "do I think anyone should be punished for retweeting a joke I made? no. will I laugh when the corporate media does so while making themselves look as detestable as possible to the common man? yes," he wrote.